@THOT POLICE to add unto that, everything you’ve just laid out also facilitates his underlying mistrust for Batman, as the joke indicates, the crazy person who is afraid to jump over the houses is hesitant to trust the guidance of the other crazy guy with the flashlight because he might “turn off the light” during his attempt to escape, and not only will he be worse off than before, but he will not be able to “see anything” other than what currently is down in the gaps between the houses. Joker still has this minimal feeling, or perhaps a premonition, that as much as Batman is sincere, perhaps he is not %100 intentional with his statement. It is pretty bizarre, too, what Batman was offering, after all the joker had just done.
Mizael Mendez I think the joker said ill shine the flashlight then you can walk across on the beam of light.. The funny thing was how can you step on the beam of light to cross? But He was more afraid that hell turn it off in the middle than the idea of the possibility of walking across the beam of light
@@seamuswalker6879 The theory is that in this scenario he actually does kill the Joker. Last I knew, it stated that he broke the Joker's neck. Since all we have as evidence is Joker's laugh ending and Batman's still goes on, it doesn't leave much room for investigating. If I recall correctly, there was a comic book that this movie was based upon and it has the same exact ending, but I think Joker's laugh was eventually cut off. Maybe it was due to his death by Batman's hands, or because of the style the book was written in. I think It went off the page or was covered but I don't remember exactly.
@@karanoelle4819 Its more likely he used the death buzzer from earlier. Bats is knocked down next to the spot it was thrown. Would account for the sudden silence.
I think what hurts the most about this scene is how Joker takes several pauses at Batman's offer, and *really* gives the impression that he genuinely considered taking it, but he truly believes he's too far gone.
The joke that he tells Batman resembles realistic thinking, as well. "Turning off the flashlight" in this instance would essentially mean that Batman would stop his rehabilitation only to incarcerate Joker or something of that nature. He might've considered it, but he's not about to be fooled, either. He's had too many run-ins with him to be fooled, or at least think that he will. Fantastic storytelling, here. A wonderful movie.
@@JimsGamingCave See, I read the "turning off the flashlight" as the Joker asking him "please kill me" in a discreet manner (which would make sense, given what the ending implies)
@@MrMarsFargo I dunno. If that would actually mean the Joker falling & dying, it would be on Batman, & he's known for not killing anyone. I suppose it's up to the viewer to make up their own meaning to his joke, & I'm sure there have been thousands of theories.
@@JimsGamingCave For me it always meant they are both in their own way insane. The first guy seems to be "sane" as he has no problem jumping the small gap, but then he offers the other to walk across a flashlight beam? The fact he believed its possible to walk on light is insanity. The fact the other person also BELIEVED its possible to walk on light but doesn't trust the one shining the light to not turn it off halfway is as insane. Batman is the one shining the light, because he believes there may be a chance for joker to change, insanity! Joker believes its possible to walk on the light beam but is so paranoid and fucked he believes batman would turn off the flashlight midway and give up on him doesn't take the plunge, insanity! This is always what it meant to me, the joker tells him "Bats, we are both insane, because YOU believe I can change and I believe you could never make it through this change so I dont trust you" (this is also why I always believed in this exact moment batman knew and strangled him to death as he keeps laughing.)
The movie did things wrong, to where a 13 year old 3D fan animation did the actual iconic dialogue better (the one most remembered and most important and such anyway), but I do give it some merits here and there. This scene. This scene is one of those few merits.
Yes, he would be, because he's been making the same offer of companionship and rehabilitation to Batman since the beginning. The Joker's been trying to help Batman see the world the way (he thinks) it truly is, and share in the solution Joker discovered to his own bad day. They both know other people think they're insane, and are trying to make sense of a mad world, but each is convinced that he found the better answer, thinks the other one is even crazier for not recognising it, and is trying to help him find peace and companionship on the "right" path. Their dynamic is hideously beautiful, and it's why their opposition is probably the most iconic in any medium.
@@mzytryck Well said. I can't name another fictional nihilistic "friendship" other than that of Batman and Joker. Maybe another such relationship exists in fiction, but it just seems so rare that it makes you really appreciate just how these two guys are written. I'm much more of a Spider-Man fan than a Batman fan, but the dynamic between him and the Joker ensures that I will always be interested.
He was. I prefer to interpret the ending of this as a shared moment of humanity and deeper understanding before Bats had to drag Joker's @$$ back to Arkham. In some ways, I think the whole movie was about trying - and potentially failing at times - to reach out from one broken human to another, that proving the whole "one bad day" philosophy actually works would have enabled the Joker to finally put his endless circus of phantoms to rest.
It also could be that the failure to prove the philosophy, both in Gordon and Bruce, showed Joker that everything they've done wasn't all because of one bad day, but because of how he reacted to one bad day; joker realizing that Joker had all the autonomy in becoming what he became. it would make all the sense, with that strange "It's far too late for that", a line that can be seen as him finally seeing and regretting, for a brief moment, the things he's done and knowing that nothing would erase those things.
@@awakenow7147 I'd like to see a world where joker and batman are legit friend, maybe even lovers. The latter would be so much more interesting. With multiple earths, I'd see a story like that
It's appropriate. Joker admits that he's crazy and that he's beyond help. Batman doesn't want to admit the same about himself, until this brief moment when he allows himself to feel just how absurd it all is.
@@Machete87 As did I, friend. Conroy was THE Batman for me, just as Hamill will always be The Joker. Whenever I'd play a game, read a comic book, etc., their voices would be the only ones I would hear.
@@codyjohnson8959 It's heartbreaking, considering he passed from cancer. I can't imagine how Mark Hamill must be feeling right now. They had such good chemistry together, at least I think so.
@@SubZero-hs9xc its only a failure if you didnt understand what they did. literally nothing changed, Killing Joke was always taken as canon to majority of the fans, all it did was confirm that. but confirming that by itself brings a multitude of questions, like why the multiple backstories, why the Joker always seemed different at different times, but Three Jokers also answered all of that quickly and wrapped it up in a nice neat little bow so they could get back to proper stories. not only that, it added weight to Jokers entire motivations behind what he's done to the entire Bat family and every other notable character like Gordon and such. again, not only that, it makes Joker even more crazy that he's managed to do all of this under his nose without him ever suspecting a thing... meaning Joker is intellectually on par with the likes of Bats and arguably possibly the likes of people like Lex or even Braniac if the story wanted, it gave him a subtle almost pointless upgrade which could be provoked during any story to explain almost anything at all and still be canonically plausible
@@macsvalerio4636 and that's why Batman laugh! Cause he's fucking crazy too. My uncles use to tell me all the time he was but he never really showed how truly crazy he was like how the Joker does. I remember that one scene where Batman threaten to blow up Darksied's planet and Darksied gave into his demands.
Same Batman the animated series was my introduction to Batman Kevin conroy was and is the definitive version of Batman at least for me as well as mark Hamel joker
@@marvinwashington5175 The Killing Joke. The intro is a complete joke and failure of a proper Batman adaptation, but once Batman pulls into Arkham Asylum, it becomes an S-Tier animated Batman movie.
Victor Rocha And the Joker chose how to react to those events. He's the one who chose to embrace his twisted sense of nihilism because of these events as a way to cope, assuming this is actually what happened.
Everyone talks about the jokers moment of sanity, but for me the best part was when Batman wanted to break the cycle and help the joker. Just what he said to him alone is so powerful that the joker actually heard him, wanted his help, and realized that he was to far gone. Made me tear up a bit when Batman offered him help, he honestly tried to reach out to the inner soul of this man and he did for a minute. Really a great final scene.
You said it the best. For once, Batman decided to actually offer the Joker genuine help, as a friend. And for that brief moment, the Joker actually heard and considered the offer. That's what makes it hurt so much... But that's part of why I think Batman laughed at the joke, he wanted the Joker to have one small victory since the matter of how their story ends became a matter of 'when' not 'if'
Their escaping an asylum, both crazy, one says an idea he's crazy enuf to believe, the other is crazy too why wudnt he believe the idea....both, Batman and Joker r equally crazy, one's jumped the other hasn't....he'd rather prefer stayin than being left halfway getting help from the one guy who understands him unfortunately the one on the opposite, who can't shed light on the path to the right anymore, it's better to let someone be than helping em a lil, giving a taste of smthn good, taste of smthn they never had and taking it all away suddenly....or maybe they're both just crazy, it's beautiful, and this isn't the meaning for him not jumping.
Exactly, Batman lifts his lamp and says to the Joker "Follow me out of the darkness, I know the way to mental wellness after experiencing severe trauma" with zero self-awareness. Batman is objectivity not mentally well. He spends millions and billions on a hero suit, vehicles, and gadgets on a compulsion to beat up low level criminals. Think of all the good that money he spent on vigilantism could do to help treat addicts or via investments in the community to prevent future crimes.
I saw the film in theaters. After Joker finished his joke, the audience laughed along with Joker and Batman. It was one of the most bitter sweet feelings I have ever felt.
When I went to theaters, everyone laughed at Joker joke, then stayed silent when Batman started laughing too. It was creepy and only after half a minute they started clapping.
I already said this, but i think that's the Point. Batman laugh is more Scary than Joker's because he goes insane. The Joker prooves the point that anyone can got looney with just a bad Day, and what Day could be worse than the one with all this shit happens to Batman and has to deal in TKJ. After all is done, is all the Same and Batman know that there's no way he can defeat Joker without killing him. And i still don't know if he actually Kill him , but he goes crazy that's for sure. And of course, as here above said, the fact that Batman almost never laughs makes it even more special, and unsettling
Conroy and Hamill are superb as always, and it's a fitting last performance for the two of them. It's a shame the movie as a whole is quite lackluster. The animation looks a bit cheap and the opening 20 minutes with Barbara felt so out of place and badly written. If you just cut out that opening then it's a good enough adaption of the Killing Joke, but I still think they could have gone a bit more all out with it.
We have one more movie with them! Crisis on infinite earths part 3, I heard part 1 is not that good but I’ll watch it to hear their voices one last time
This gives you a glimpse into how the Joker is self aware of just how broken he is and does everything he does to try to cope and adapt with what he's irreversibly become.
So Batman is the first guy and Joker is the second guy. They're both nuts, but one managed to get out of the "madhouse" by himself and tried to help his friend do the same. But the friend is too insane to be able to accept the help, while the first guy is offering "help" that wouldn't work anyway.
In other words, they're both too insane to help. In a way, the Joker sees Batman as even crazier than himself, as Guy #1 (Batman) seems genuinely convinced that walking across the beam of light will work, while Guy #2 (Joker) is just playing it off with a joke. Just like the Joker does with everything. This whole story was about how much Batman and Joker pity each other.
I love this ending because of how much it diverts the viewers expectations. I was expecting an ending where Batman finally kills the joker, Gordon is seen back in his normal life, and everything is a happily ever after. An ending where Batman got his standing ovation. When he declined to kill him because, in the end, he'd win, it escalates into this slow realization that Batman and Joker are just as insane as eachother, and that there's no fixing either of their mental dillusion. The entire movie ends with just that one laugh, followed by rain and silence. Alot of movies end with the problem being solved, big mr. Bad guy is gone, everything is good. But this. No dance party scene that exists solely to sell a record. No explanation with what happens afterwards. Nothing. Just rain.
@@izeahpemberton9511 and Alan Moore outright stated he didn't kill Joker in the comic. And as you pointed out Joker isn't struggling or making any choking sounds.
This scene actually shows the REAL side of the Joker, not the murderous raving lunatic that we all know. He actually had a genuine laugh, an actual conversation where they’re not trying to kill each other...it’s amazing!
@@zackcoleman8881 Batman didn't kill him in the comics. If I remember correctly, the very next issue after the killing joke, Joker is mention doing his high jinks yet again.
Well he did beat a teenage boy with a crowbar in a cold, dark warehouse for months until he finally decided to blow him up with some high grade explosives so I mean, he is still kind of a murderous raving lunatic
While the joke was legendary, in my opinion the scene where he picks up the gun and is genuinely disappointed to find it fake because of his own doing is infinitely funnier.
I was honestly expecting him to say "...Oops...wrong gun." Or something like that. Though, let's be honest, the fact he had the wrong gun and he just was like "God Damn it." Was one of the funniest bits in the movie. That's true comedy there, and the Joker has always been more for slapstick than telling jokes.
That's why I like Joker as a villain and Batman as a superhero. For Joker: Despite being insane, murderous and committing so many crimes, Joker's soft and humane side is sad. It shows that deep down, despite being a villain, he understood what Bruce is trying to do for him and appreciates it, but rejects cause he admits that his problems, sins and crimes were too far for him to redeem himself to the people and to Bruce. For Batman: He bruises and injures criminals but doesn't kill so that he can shows justice. But when it comes to the Joker, he feels responsible cause he was the cause of the birth of Joker. He wanted to fix the Joker so that he can have his humane life back despite him killing many people and causing crimes. Seeing both of them sharing laughs for a joke is a memorable moment in all of Batman's series that I'll NEVER forget. Cause it's a moment where both got along and setting their differences aside for the time being.
@@chikennabugwu2296 That whole joke was an example of the situation of both Batman and joker . If you listen carefully you might understand that how it is impossible for the joker to follow the footsteps of Batman and that he would fall into his own abyss and therefore the meaning of his darker life will end. They are destined to do this forever. But, joker would never kill Batman ever. As he completes him(as also shown in the movie- the dark knight). But one day if he can make Batman kill him that would lead to his own moral victory. It's damn complicated bro. But in truth, Joker's life is more darker and with much deeper meanings that our Batman. Somehow it's kinda tough to explain here. I tried to give you a small glimpse. Repeat the video again. You might get my point. 😉
For those unaware, this clip follows that of the comic, and though the ending is intentionally left ambiguous, it is not a coincidence that the last thing you see is Batmans hands on either side of the Jokers neck, followed by Batmans laughter, while the Joker's laughter dies off as soon as the camera pans off of them. This is left as an open implication that Batman could have killed the Joker, as it was the only way to end their cat and mouse game, and that Batman, after all this time has finally begun to lose himself. The comic focuses heavily on each character's tragedies and how they have broken and reshaped their mental states into something warped and twisted, with the Joker being truly free, doing as he wishes, haunted only by his past, and Batman's being restrained, haunted not by the past which he has accepted, but rather by how his current actions are impacting others in the present, and the story's heavy focus on the fact that the only way to end this cycle is for at least one of them to die. I've not read this comic or seen this film adaptation, mind you, but I. My research into Alan Moore, I stumbled upon this and find the narrative rather interesting. He has gone into depth about several scenes through this story arc, and which classic films have inspired them.
Except his hand are on his shoulders not his neck. I honestly never understand the idea that Batman killed the Joker in the end. The scene existed just to show the connection between the two characters, to emphasize that these two really are the same. Under different circumstances they could have even been friends but due to jokers unwillingness or unable to take the leap to get help they're destined to combat. In the end all they can really do is laugh at the absurdity of it all.
@@MegaOverclocked I mean, Alan Moore, the man who wrote it literally disagrees with you, but hey, I guess you somehow know his work better than he does. Jesus Christ, the ego on you Gen Z kids is incredible.
@@the-dullahan Yes, if that's the case then I have i gotta question his writing process cause it's completely asinine development. I'm more partial to believe he only says that shit to give the comic some grand significance that clearly didn't exist.
@@MegaOverclocked the only thing "clear" is that you've never read the comic. The whole series is a buildup to that and yes that's exactly what the ending implies. You realize how many times Batman has killed Joker onscreen and in comics? It's nothing new.
“I’m sorry but...no. No, it’s far too late for that.” This was actually a shock for me, and probably was for all the Joker and Batman fans out there. Joker actually shows empathy and manners for his long-time rival.
People talk about Joker and Batman and the Not So Different meme. Here's the thing; Joker knows! *_He's Always Known._* Half the shit he's done was trying to point it out to Batman so he'd come over to Joker's side... so Joker wouldn't be alone.
I don't think Joker wants Batman to come over to his side, as he enjoys their cat and mouse game too much. Once he's beaten Batman, or made him realise he's crazy, then there's no fun anymore. The fact Batman is so absolutely resolute and will not break, is what drives Joker to keep causing mayhem.
@@Crichjo32 That's the killing joke; Joker and a crazy Bat would... do something else. Think about the joke. Joker is portraying himself as the guy with the flashlight.
The Joker knows he cannot be saved. Most of his life has been causing death and destruction. He knows that he has hurt countless people and that would haunt him if he ever tried to seek real redemption.
You're not far off. If you look at Joker's hand gesture in the pannel after the one where Batman grabs him, he's clearly thinking, "Really, Bats? You're still gonna arrest me? I thought we had a moment?"
That has to be the most depressing video description I've ever read. "I own nothing" many would assume that this in reference to the video but I disagree. It is actually a sad desperate plea for help from the uploader. Very deep stuff. Poetic.
You know, i thought that right at that exact moment (2:35), the police would show up just like what happened at the last page of the comic of "Batman: The Killing Joke"
@@Hafb73 my dude! I kid you not! He turned himself into a pickle and then calls himself, “Pickle Bat”! It’s the most funniest shit I ever seen, my dude! :D
“I’m sorry but no.....no....it’s far too late for that” I know people keep talking about this but it’s just so damn good. After everything they’ve been through, after everything Joker has done, Batman still wants to help Joker. Joker understands this and actually considers it for a bit. Unfortunately, even he knows it’s too late for any rehabilitation...
Yeh...also I think the joke itself is part of his response. Maybe Batman is the first crazy guy :-? while the joker is the 2nd crazy guy, not trusting Batman's offer :-?
I think the joke was a metaphor, that the Joker was afraid that Bats would just leave him halfway when helping him. Idk lol, this scene is a masterpiece.
The joke’s message is they’re both ultimately as mad as each other; only one of them accepts it. Only a madman would think you can walk across a beam of light AND say ‘what do you think I am, crazy?’
The whole point of the joke is that both Batman and Joker are insane. Batman laughs because he realizes in that moment that Joker is incapable of rehabilitation and he basically snaps. He isn't laughing because the joke is funny, he is laughing at the futility of trying to help this mad man. The theory is that Joker stops laughing because Batman killed him. Apparently when the comic was first put out it was meant to a be non-canon story. When it was made canon, the idea that Joker was killed had to be thrown out. As a stand alone movie, I like to think Batman really did kill the Joker and I would love to see a follow up where he had to deal with having done it.
@@kelman727 I saw this scene multiple times not getting the joke, and now, as I read your comment, I realized they are talking about a literal beam of light as opposed to a physical, metal beam...
Joker's laugh at the end of his joke is heartbreaking, he know that he desperately wants to go back to being normal, but he can't and the one person who understands him is on the opposite end, the guy that he cant find himself trusting back because he cant trust himself. Mark Hamill really did a good job with this film.
Mark Hamill did mention in one of the interviews he uses jokers laugh like an musical instrument, that is its tone is measured by the emotion. The joker's laugh in this one is tone-wise not exaggerated at all, its almost sane
@@marianofernandezdarriba673 Mark Hamill didn't have any part in that, he just voiced Joker. (He also played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy and Disneyverse sequels, and voiced Firelord Ozai amongst others).
Heh. I took his story as you may think you made it out but you and I are still mad. Nevermind whatever brand over clarevoyance you believe you have we are both two madmen with wacked ideologies. Batman laughed because it's true... and he knew then and there, that he and joker were gonna be stuck in a never ending loop because they are both insane. Batman just can't kill the joker
This scene makes me laugh, because if you think about. Batman said "let me help you, i can rehabilitate you" but at the same time he himself is on a twisted path too. Can a crazy person rehabilitate another crazy person? Makes me laugh when i think about because of how brilliant it is.
@@JamesT094 Batman said that he can rehabilitate Joker. And then the joke implied that 2 crazy men can't save other which meant that batman is just as crazy as him which also mean batman can't save joker because he himself isn't 'normal'
I mean if Batman started laughing you know something is wrong. I mean the man that held himself together after a nuke in Metropolis was set off and he’s angry yeah but that’s just the interrogation.
Same here just watched a couple hours ago for the first time. Loved it. Especially knowing that Mark Hamill and Tara Strong being in the movie. I especially love this joke they put into the movie.
It was ok at best for me. I don't mind the whole focus on Batgirl in the first act, but it went a bit too long and the animation I think is not awful, but really lacking. But that ending was definitely the best part, showing how Batman and Joker are the same
h0xi y0xa0xr well actually the director purposefully made it this way so you could draw your own conclusion, like the idea that Batman killed joker here for example
The fact that Batman tried to convince Joker that they could work together and try to save him, makes this scene a bit more amazing cause it shows that Batman has a human side in him and he is not someone who is just a cold-hearted vigilante (or hero it works the same). After all that the Joker did he still chose to help him. It is just so fascinating .
Right, I actually really like that the 80s period of the comics were a lot less un-compassionate towards people with mental illnesses (rather than depicting Batman going out of his way to seek out mentally ill people to beat up/physically assault every odd week or so).
@@MrMarsFargo If you honestly think Batman has ever been depicted as just going out and seeking mentally ill people to beat up in the comics. Then I refuse to believe you have actually ever read any Batman comic. Time and time again in Comics or Shows or what have you, we see Batman extent his hand out to try and help people, good or bad. It's not a new idea, not an idea lost to time. It's still his mission in modern comics. A recent example that I can think of was that "Batman: I'M A GUN". (Or just any of the main entry runs for the past two decades.) The only people that make the statement "Batman is just a rich guy that beats up the poor and mentally ill" tend to either be making funny jokes/skits (like those funny videos where Batman beats up people for doing stuff like "using the pool after dark"), or uninformed terminally online people that have never picked up a Batman book in their life and just parrot what they have heard other uninformed people say.
The meaning of the joke is way deeper than most people think. Batman and the Joker are the loonies, and the asylum represents how their traumatic experiences (the death of Bruce's parents, unknown for the Joker, but his memory in the movie was losing his love and future child and a subsequent dip in acid) changed them and made them mentally unstable. Batman, the first loony, has jumped the gap out of the asylum. He has denied his own insanity and managed to function in the regular world, despite his trauma. However, he's still as crazy as the Joker (in the comic, Joker: "Why else would you punch criminals at night dressed as a bat?"). He's offering the Joker to become like him, a functioning member of society. However, the rehabilitation he offers is a false hope: for any sane man, a beam of light won't help a person cross a gap, just how no rehabilitation could possibly help the Joker. The Joker, however, knows this, since he knows the joke, but still has hope, despite how futile it is, that it will work, since the second loony doesn't say no because of the light. The loony is afraid his accomplice will turn the light off. The Joker doesn't trust Batman to continue the rehabilitation if it doesn't produce results. . In summary: The Joker considers Batman as insane as he is, even though he's adapted to society. He thinks the rehabilitation won't fix him, but its point is for him to become another crazy person who's adapted. He knows it's impossible to do so, but still retains hope for it to work. But he doesn't trust Batman to actually do it for him.
The punchline is “what? do you think I am crazy?”. Joke is just funny because both the escaping patients are crazy. There is no rehabilitation, there is no flash of light or hope. Its a dark joke. It’s left open to interpretation on purpose but the punchline is that both the Joker and Batman are loonies.
For a moment there he was touched by Batman's kindness and willingness to rehabilitate him. They both had bad days that would forever shape the course of their lives. But knowing that after all the Joker has done, there's no going back. There was nothing for him to go back to anyway. His wife and unborn child were dead, his life was turned upside down in one day. And even if they were alive, they'd hate him for the person he had become. The second he respectfully declined Batman's help was the moment where the Joker's last bit of humanity finally died
All of the content that's actually from the Killing Joke graphic novel is terrific. It's the added romance subplot with Batman plowing Batgirl that nearly ruined this adaptation.
Yeah...especially since some incarnations of Robin, specifically Dick I think, had a thing for/with Barbera. Which adds another level of fucked up to the thing.
Samuel Jones there’s a part of me that isn’t to upset about the Batman - Batgirl subplot. Yes he’s her mentor and she’s his student. But they are both grown adults and she came on to him. Personally I don’t think it added anything to the story other then 15-25 minutes of filler screen time but I’m not bothered by it. I do wish they would have used that time to go deeper into the story.
The romance subplot, in my opinion, shows that if a man and a woman were to work together they have to form a romantic relationship. It normalizes that a profesional relationship between a man and a woman will always lead to a romantic relationship, which is very irritating. In the comic, Batman was just as determined to catch the Joker and save James Gordon and possibly avenge Barbara without the brief romance. Barbara was to quick being Batgirl because of her paralysis and became Oracle so she could help Batman and others. In the movie, she quits and for some unexplained reasons decides to become Oracle. The romance subplot added nothing new, it was just pointless and unnecessary filler. They could have used the extra time to explain why Joker decided to suddenly target the Gordons and prove to Batman why it all takes one bad day to end up like him. Also explain why Batman suddenly decided to end their animosity towards each other in a peaceful and permanent way instead of the usual punch to the face. Hopefully, helping each other heal from their own psychological damages and move on. Lastly, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are quite the duo.
I wasn't too big on The Killing Joke movie in general but damn Conroy and Hamill definitely did the ending justice, and to be honest that's all I'd really want out of a Killing Joke adaptation. R.I.P. Kevin Conroy
People can say what they want about The Killing Joke, but it's really the only Joker "origin story" that doesn't take the easy way out. It doesn't just make him a born psychopath who Batman allowed to fall into a vat of toxic waste during a heist. It gives the Joker humanity and empathy, and then it dares to ask what happens when a person is broken so horribly that they lose those very qualities. In 1989, Tim Burton's adaptation popularized the storyline where Batman was responsible for the Joker's accident, and Joker himself was already a sadistic psychopath throughout most of his childhood. This made the Joker a lost cause since he never had any humanity to begin with then, but The Killing Joke is different. The sheer frustration for Batman in it isn't merely that the Joker exists, but that he wants to help him and can't genuinely offer that help in such a mad world. This is no longer just a good guy vs. bad guy dichotomy. It's a story about two human beings coping with every harsh blow the world can throw at them in the only way they know how, no matter how flawed and self-defeating those ways may be. When Batman says "I don't want to hurt you", there's this kind of desperation there, like he's trying to reassure a person who's badly frightened. He doesn't hate the Joker. He hates that the Joker ended up the way he did, and he pities him.
Easily the most tragic scene in all of Batman. The joke it Joker outright telling Batman why it is too late. Batman is the guy that leapt across to the other building and is the one telling Joker to follow him over to sanity, to freedom from their past tragedies, but as Joker then says, he can't do it, because he is afraid that Batman will just leave him once he is halfway there. This is made even more clear in the graphic novel where it is obvious that joker is considering it and that a part of him wants to do it. Like a guy who is afraid of loving after being burned and choses that he would rather not even try giving love a chance at all again.
You're mostly right, but you're missing something in the joke, and that's that the character in the joke that represents Joker is fucked either way, and that's what Joker is trying to convey. The Joker is saying "You'd just turn it off when I was half way there" As a means of showing that he's afraid that they would just give up on rehabilitating him, but the scenario also shows how futile the joker thinks rehabilitation would be. Even if he chose to walk on the beam of light, he'd fall, because he's being asked to do the impossible. Walking on that beam of light is just as impossible as atoning for all of the Joker's sins. He understands that it's something that just can't happen, and he's finally coming to terms with the fact that he really is too far gone, even though he now wants to change for the better. Of course, this is all hypothetical seeing as even The Joker admits that he doesn't know whether or not this origin story is even real or not.
I love the layers of the joke Joker tells. The two people who decide they don't like living in the asylum anymore (Batman and the Joker). The escape (they both break free of the confines of society, but all they've really managed to do is get to the roof of the asylum -- they're not free, just look at the asylum from a different angle). The leap (Batman channels his trauma into a quest for meaning). The fear of falling (Joker reacts to his trauma by deciding life has no meaning). The offer to shine a flashlight across the gap (the offer of rehabilitation) so the other escapee can walk across the beam of light (the absurdity of rehabilitating the Joker allowing him to achieve a sense of meaning). The retort of "you'll just turn the beam off when I'm halfway across" (Joker's fear that trusting Batman to achieve the apparently impossible will leave him worse off than remaining in his current condition). On that level, it's a heartbreaking metaphor for why Joker turns Batman down. On the surface level, it still works as a joke that subverts expectation (the inmate's issue with walking on a flashlight beam isn't that it's impossible, but that he's afraid the beam will disappear when he's halfway done walking across on it). In a sense, Joker wins, because he makes Batman laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing, so for that moment, he's gotten Batman to see the world from the Joker's point of view ("God's a comedian, life is a joke, and we're all to scared to laugh at the punchline.")
Batman's hands go to Joker's shoulders. Fingers and thumbs apart, spread around his neck. Batman and Joker laugh, as the camera pans down. Batman's hands scroll up out of frame. Joker stops laughing. Batman continues laughing.
R.I.P. Kevin Conroy. I'm a Gen Zer who grew up with the live action movies and your later animated movies so I didn't get as influenced by you as other older fans. But I do agree that your voice was the best for Batman. Thank you for the impact you've had.
Person Guy me too. It shows that deep down everyone is still human, no matter what they do, no matter what they say. Humans are complicated things. No one is truly good and no one is truly evil. It’s nice to see that reflected in jokers few serious moments
That’s what I’m saying. Black and white is a lie we tell ourselves to justify our actions. If a person is "bad" or "evil" suddenly we don’t have to care about their well being
Refering to jokers joke: The two people he's refering too in the asylum are Batman and him. See, they both had a "really bad day" one with Batman's parents dying and one with jokers life falling apart. When they decided to escape, this is refering to how they overcame their bad day. The first guy managed to jump across easily, symbolizing Batman overcoming his parents death with the help of Alfred, his persistence, his money, etc. Joker didn't have anything. He was afraid. He was having difficulty, crossing that line into "freedom", his exhale of pain by going into the rooftops. When he talks about the man shining the flashlight, he's refering to putting his trust in other people. People who might help him. But that's where the joke came in. He would turn the flashlight off, just to see the other guy fall to his descent, into darkness, and laugh. Joker never trusted anyone, no matter how convincing they sounded, because he believed no one cares about him at all, that he was nothing but a laughing stock. So he laughed back.
Paralyzing Barbara and assaulting her all in an attempt to make Jim Gordon crack is one of the worst things Joker has done and should make him totally irredeemable, but then you learn that he came to this sick plan because it stems from a lot of deep-set issues and horrific trauma that's not too unlike Batman's own. It adds an extra layer to his and Batman's rivalry and makes Joker far more than the one-dimensional serial killer he was. This is not to say his tragedy excuses his crime--it only serves to explain his actions and grant the reader an understanding of the Joker at his core. Joker has one bad day that drove him to insanity, and thus he believes making others suffer the way he suffered means that they'll go insane too, and that all human beings are as bad as he is at heart; but he's ultimately proven wrong. Gordon didn't crack, Barbara went on to continue helping people, and Batman (contrary to popular fan theories) didn't even kill Joker. He's presented as a pathetically selfish creature desperately wanting to not be alone in his insanity by dragging others down with him--absolutely not someone to emulate or absolve of any guilt because "society is to blame." Despite this, Joker implicitly recognizes how monstrous he's become and clearly hates himself to his fundamental core and his own suffering isn't downplayed. You can understand, if not agree, why Batman wants to help him--why Batman doesn't want to kill him. But Joker doesn't accept Batman's help, because Joker believes he's too far gone--and he might be right, but tragic nonetheless. Alan Moore intended Killing Joke to be a very complex story that has Joker simultaneously at his most monstrous and at his most sympathetic, so that future Batman and Joker stories could be more complex. Instead, DC editors and writers clearly felt that they need to "one-up" the sheer horrific things Joker did in this story by making him as depraved as possible in almost every subsequent story (Death in the Family, No Man's Land, Azzarello's Joker, Injustice) to the point of becoming evil incarnate--ironically making him even more one-dimensional and one-note than ever before. This is why I crave more complex and maybe even sympathetic Joker stories but also understand the frustration some fans have that he's too horrible to ever be that way--the two characterizations conflict too much.
It's kinda like how it is with Jotaro. Jotaro's normally a stoic punk, so when he laughs it means something's REALLY bizarre. Y'know, this reminds me of a classic joke: there are two identical rocks in the desert. ...that one gets Jotaro every time. Every time.
The significance of the joke is that Batman is the one that jumped across and joker is the one that is to afraid to, and even if joker had trusted batman to help him, he knows batman couldn't if he tried.
Actually it's also possible that the Joker made the jump. Think about it. The Joker uses insanity to escape from his miserable past, which is like the freedom he spoke of in the joke, while Batman continues to wallow in his misery. On the other hand, Batman could be interpreted as the man who managed to escape as he literally roams Gotham freely while the Joker keeps having to return to Arkham. The reason the joke is so clever is that either one of them could be the one who made the jump. It depends on the viewer's interpretation.
they're both insane, one escaped the insane (most say batman) and tried helping the other get across with insane methods and the other ones was mostly to scared of being betrayed then the methods themselves. This on the layer would make most sense for joker to be the one stuck in the asylum but if you look at the psyche of bruce/batman and jokers main point.. you'll realize they're interchangable the joker is always trying to prove a point to batman when he's mostly just trying to stop him
I only now realized that the "first guy" in the joke could refer to Batman and the guy who's scared of heights could be The Joker. The whole "escape from the asylum" scenario is a metaphor for Batman's peace offering.
You can interpret it any way you want, but it's more of a metaphor for how Bats and Joker are both equally crazy, but Batman doesn't realize it. The heights guy thinks he's sane because he sees past the other guy's "trick," but he's still crazy for thinking it would work given he didn't turn the flashlight off. That's why Batman laughs because he's basically saying, "You're right, fuck it. We're both loons with no hope of recovering. Who cares who kills who?"
+YodasGotSoul exactly, that's how I saw it... a lot of people found the scene and graphic novel's ending disturbing realizing this... i kind of found it refreshing...
The guys in the joke could be either of them. Joker tries to tell Batman to let go and join him in insanity. Batman thinks he's sane and refuses the offer. Or Batman avoided insanity and tries to help Joker across too, but Joker's too insane to even try.
I only have one problem: There is no beam of light reflected in the puddle. In the comic, we see the beam of light and then... it's gone. It shows that, just like in the joke, the bridge is gone... the offer is gone... this was the last chance and now there is no more.
I felt exactly the same way! I also wished they would've left the sexuality in Babs and Bruce's relationship to a more implied level, or otherwise have made this confrontation more of an "abyss" scenario with Batman, where his feelings for Barbara and what happened to her would struggle against Jim's wishes for this one to end peacefully. The whole Barbara thing kinda seemed to drop off the map after the hospital scene. But...this was the bigger gripe, ha ha.
Now that you mention it... the bridge being gone could also mean that the guy offering to help (batman) decided to turn off the light so that the other guy would fall down from the physical bridge to his death. Meaning that batman decided to kill the joker. Obviously i know that the bridge wasn't actually physical before but in a metaphorical perspective it would make sense. Seeing as how both inmates thought that the light bridge was real and functional.
Vegetable Soup actually i believe that is incorrect. What Joker thinks is that, half way through his rehabilitation (if he did accept the offer) Which he refers to as the "jumping roof to roof to freedom" Joker believes everyone would give up on him HALF WAY through his rehabilitation and he'd be left to the same horrible life, except without his wife. And he would lose the "bond" of him and Batman
I'm actually really happy that despite how they messed up the beginning of this movie they kept that legendary ending intact. I just love that ambiguity of how Batman puts his hand on joker's shoulder while they're both laughing and then it pans down to the rain on the ground and your left to wonder "did joker just stop laughing because he was done laughing or did Batman just kill him once and for all after being explicitly told that there's no more hope for him? In a few moments is there going to be blood mixed into that rain on the ground?" I just love how this one really makes you wonder 🤔🤔🤔
I wonder whether Batman decided to kill the Joker at the exact moment the lightning bolt struck (assuming the kill actually took place). I also wonder whether the Joker realized what was about to happen, therefore deciding to make one final joke. Earlier in the movie, Batman warned Batgirl of "the abyss." There was also Batman's speech when he was speaking to the fake Joker. Perhaps Batman gave in, finally deciding that enough is enough. Perhaps this was a test of Batman's sanity, rather than that of Gordon.
Batman was probably choking Joker to death and that's why he was still laughing. He wanted the Joker's last few moments to see his only friend laughing at his joke
@Aviral Khattar I don't know where people are getting this information. There has not been any conclusive evidence that this is the case. There is no sudden sound of a crack in the comics, no indication of sound except the vehicle coming towards them. If this really was the case, it would be seen as a sound effect. The lack of any laughter would at that point not be evidence. If that is the evidence, then Joker could have easily snapped Bruce's neck. We don't see Joker putting his hands on Bruce but just because we don't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Now doesn't that logic look silly? It's the same thing just reversed. It's silly and theres no evidence, but using the lack of evidence is not evidence in itself here. I've had to see so many people give this information that Bruce broke Joker's neck so many times. It's almost like people didn't actually read it. Or take the 39 seconds to Google it and find that this is not the case.
I rather enjoyed this scene. Not because of the joke, because the Joker and Batman were both able to have a heart to heart. Both of them are rather the same guy. Both of their lives shaped by tragedy, but each going different routes. In that brief few seconds they were not hero and villain. They were just people. Coming to terms with each other, and their fate.
I think my most favorite part of this movie is how for a brief moment at the end the joker finally set aside all the bullshit between him and Batman and considered what was offered to him. He let whatever heavens and hells that were plaguing him and answer Batman as one human to another. Rip Kevin Conroy.
The description on this video is hilarious to me. "I own nothing". Dude, I feel for you. I got a couch if you want somewhere to crash for the night. :(
It’s kinda sad when you think about it Batman offered him help even tho he rejected his help but you can feel it deep down he wanted to accept his help but joker’s insanity held him back
He rejected his help partly because he recognizes that Batman is also insane in his own way, and can't see it. Hence the joke, a person escapes the asylum and then offers a beam of light to follow to the other side to his companion. Though he has escaped his prison and thinks himself well, he is not. The path of light he offers leads to what he _thinks_ is wellness, but is just a different form of illness, which is why is is illusory. It is a path that will eventually end in failure for the man and his companion. A rich guy dressing up like a bat and compulsively beating up low level criminals in his spare time to cope with his trauma is just as unwell as a person dressing up like a clown and killing people. The companion in the parable _believes_ the beam will carry him to safety, but only doesn't take it because he doesn't trust the man not to pull the rug out from under him midway. That is not the Joker, he is sane enough to recognize that the path Batman offers is illusory. Batman is the man shining a beam of light across a dark chasm, believing with all of his heart that it is solid enough to walk on. Who is the less sane person in that duo?
It wasn’t jokers insanity that held him back, it was the fact that he was to far gone. In that moment joker became sane enough to realize that he couldn’t be rehabilitated.
Reason why Batman laughed Is because he realized the joke was about both of them being crazy
They are both deeply traumatized men. As adversaries, they mirror each other.
@HunteR It was for both reasons, but I think Batman really did find it funny
@THOT POLICE to add unto that, everything you’ve just laid out also facilitates his underlying mistrust for Batman, as the joke indicates, the crazy person who is afraid to jump over the houses is hesitant to trust the guidance of the other crazy guy with the flashlight because he might “turn off the light” during his attempt to escape, and not only will he be worse off than before, but he will not be able to “see anything” other than what currently is down in the gaps between the houses. Joker still has this minimal feeling, or perhaps a premonition, that as much as Batman is sincere, perhaps he is not %100 intentional with his statement. It is pretty bizarre, too, what Batman was offering, after all the joker had just done.
Mizael Mendez
I think the joker said ill shine the flashlight then you can walk across on the beam of light..
The funny thing was how can you step on the beam of light to cross?
But He was more afraid that hell turn it off in the middle than the idea of the possibility of walking across the beam of light
No. It was that ultimately nobody can trust anybody.
Curse of Humanity.
It's actually kinda creepy that the Joker suddenly stops laughing but Batman's laugh gets louder.
Yeah, Batman strangled him and kept laughing!
@@seamuswalker6879 The theory is that in this scenario he actually does kill the Joker. Last I knew, it stated that he broke the Joker's neck. Since all we have as evidence is Joker's laugh ending and Batman's still goes on, it doesn't leave much room for investigating.
If I recall correctly, there was a comic book that this movie was based upon and it has the same exact ending, but I think Joker's laugh was eventually cut off. Maybe it was due to his death by Batman's hands, or because of the style the book was written in. I think It went off the page or was covered but I don't remember exactly.
@@karanoelle4819 Its more likely he used the death buzzer from earlier. Bats is knocked down next to the spot it was thrown. Would account for the sudden silence.
@@NotMyRealName69 So would breaking his neck, tbh.
Seamus Walker he doesn’t that would defeat the whole purpose
I think what hurts the most about this scene is how Joker takes several pauses at Batman's offer, and *really* gives the impression that he genuinely considered taking it, but he truly believes he's too far gone.
At least he realizes it
The joke that he tells Batman resembles realistic thinking, as well. "Turning off the flashlight" in this instance would essentially mean that Batman would stop his rehabilitation only to incarcerate Joker or something of that nature. He might've considered it, but he's not about to be fooled, either. He's had too many run-ins with him to be fooled, or at least think that he will. Fantastic storytelling, here. A wonderful movie.
@@JimsGamingCave See, I read the "turning off the flashlight" as the Joker asking him "please kill me" in a discreet manner (which would make sense, given what the ending implies)
@@MrMarsFargo I dunno. If that would actually mean the Joker falling & dying, it would be on Batman, & he's known for not killing anyone. I suppose it's up to the viewer to make up their own meaning to his joke, & I'm sure there have been thousands of theories.
@@JimsGamingCave For me it always meant they are both in their own way insane.
The first guy seems to be "sane" as he has no problem jumping the small gap, but then he offers the other to walk across a flashlight beam?
The fact he believed its possible to walk on light is insanity.
The fact the other person also BELIEVED its possible to walk on light but doesn't trust the one shining the light to not turn it off halfway is as insane.
Batman is the one shining the light, because he believes there may be a chance for joker to change, insanity!
Joker believes its possible to walk on the light beam but is so paranoid and fucked he believes batman would turn off the flashlight midway and give up on him doesn't take the plunge, insanity!
This is always what it meant to me, the joker tells him "Bats, we are both insane, because YOU believe I can change and I believe you could never make it through this change so I dont trust you"
(this is also why I always believed in this exact moment batman knew and strangled him to death as he keeps laughing.)
I'm not a fan of this adaptation, but I'm glad that Kevin and Mark had the chance to read these iconic lines in a movie, one last time together.
Actually the episode “What a Night for a Dark Knight!” in “Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?” was the last project they worked on together
"Without Batman, crime has no punchline." RIP Kevin Conroy
adaptation? wasn't this joker supposed to be considered canon by DC?
@@mrcokez1The Killing Joke was a comic first, and then it got turned into a cartoon. Hence adaptation.
The movie did things wrong, to where a 13 year old 3D fan animation did the actual iconic dialogue better (the one most remembered and most important and such anyway), but I do give it some merits here and there.
This scene. This scene is one of those few merits.
When the Joker refuses Batman's offer and says, "I'm sorry," he was actually being sincere.
Yes, he would be, because he's been making the same offer of companionship and rehabilitation to Batman since the beginning. The Joker's been trying to help Batman see the world the way (he thinks) it truly is, and share in the solution Joker discovered to his own bad day.
They both know other people think they're insane, and are trying to make sense of a mad world, but each is convinced that he found the better answer, thinks the other one is even crazier for not recognising it, and is trying to help him find peace and companionship on the "right" path. Their dynamic is hideously beautiful, and it's why their opposition is probably the most iconic in any medium.
@@mzytryck Well said. I can't name another fictional nihilistic "friendship" other than that of Batman and Joker. Maybe another such relationship exists in fiction, but it just seems so rare that it makes you really appreciate just how these two guys are written.
I'm much more of a Spider-Man fan than a Batman fan, but the dynamic between him and the Joker ensures that I will always be interested.
He was. I prefer to interpret the ending of this as a shared moment of humanity and deeper understanding before Bats had to drag Joker's @$$ back to Arkham. In some ways, I think the whole movie was about trying - and potentially failing at times - to reach out from one broken human to another, that proving the whole "one bad day" philosophy actually works would have enabled the Joker to finally put his endless circus of phantoms to rest.
It also could be that the failure to prove the philosophy, both in Gordon and Bruce, showed Joker that everything they've done wasn't all because of one bad day, but because of how he reacted to one bad day; joker realizing that Joker had all the autonomy in becoming what he became. it would make all the sense, with that strange "It's far too late for that", a line that can be seen as him finally seeing and regretting, for a brief moment, the things he's done and knowing that nothing would erase those things.
@@awakenow7147 I'd like to see a world where joker and batman are legit friend, maybe even lovers. The latter would be so much more interesting. With multiple earths, I'd see a story like that
I actually find Batman's laugh more unsettling than Joker's.
It's Bruce making himself emotionally and physically vulnerable to his mortal enemy for the first time.
It's appropriate. Joker admits that he's crazy and that he's beyond help. Batman doesn't want to admit the same about himself, until this brief moment when he allows himself to feel just how absurd it all is.
Did he just kill joker
I think he killed him 'cause Joker stopped laughing while Bruce kept laughing.
It's just a theory though.We can't really confirm if this is true.
Rest in Peace, Kevin Conroy. You will be remembered by many people. We will ensure that your legend never dies, & your work never goes unnoticed.
loved his work. my childhood😥💔
See you came here for same reason as me.
@@Machete87 As did I, friend. Conroy was THE Batman for me, just as Hamill will always be The Joker. Whenever I'd play a game, read a comic book, etc., their voices would be the only ones I would hear.
@@codyjohnson8959 It's heartbreaking, considering he passed from cancer. I can't imagine how Mark Hamill must be feeling right now. They had such good chemistry together, at least I think so.
@@JimsGamingCave it really is. That man will always be the voice my brain automatically hears when I think of Batman.
The fact that this version of Joker is finally confirmed to be canon makes this more heartwrenching
How?
@@josephisrael507 Batman: Three Jokers has asserted this Joker as the original and his story being canon. It's also revealed his family is alive
@@anonymousman5573 sincerely batman the three jokers was a failure, spitting on all the killing joke
@@SubZero-hs9xc The only good thing about Three Jokers is the artwork and Jason confessing his love at the end for Barbara
@@SubZero-hs9xc its only a failure if you didnt understand what they did.
literally nothing changed, Killing Joke was always taken as canon to majority of the fans, all it did was confirm that.
but confirming that by itself brings a multitude of questions, like why the multiple backstories, why the Joker always seemed different at different times, but Three Jokers also answered all of that quickly and wrapped it up in a nice neat little bow so they could get back to proper stories.
not only that, it added weight to Jokers entire motivations behind what he's done to the entire Bat family and every other notable character like Gordon and such.
again, not only that, it makes Joker even more crazy that he's managed to do all of this under his nose without him ever suspecting a thing... meaning Joker is intellectually on par with the likes of Bats and arguably possibly the likes of people like Lex or even Braniac if the story wanted, it gave him a subtle almost pointless upgrade which could be provoked during any story to explain almost anything at all and still be canonically plausible
"I'm sorry, but no... no it's far too late for that"
The most human Joker has ever been
It almost broke me.
Read or listen to a reading of the soliloquy Joker gives earlier in this story while Batman is making his way through the deathtrap funhouse.
They respect each other as broken men.
Joker 2019:
Adiós
Rule of 2
"Do you want to tell me the joke?"
"You wouldn't get it..."
This is what I thought of too
Yeap only a crazy one would get it
God tier movie
i get the joker movie with pheonix
@@macsvalerio4636 and that's why Batman laugh! Cause he's fucking crazy too. My uncles use to tell me all the time he was but he never really showed how truly crazy he was like how the Joker does. I remember that one scene where Batman threaten to blow up Darksied's planet and Darksied gave into his demands.
The way that the Joker's laughter suddenly and mysteriously stops while Batman continues to chuckle is still haunting. RIP, Sir Kevin.
Yeah it looks like someone had enough and probably is strangaling the other
R.I.P Kevin Conroy, my childhood Batman and all-time favourite Dark Knight. The world has truly lost an icon. Even the joker will miss you.
Same Batman the animated series was my introduction to Batman Kevin conroy was and is the definitive version of Batman at least for me as well as mark Hamel joker
“Without Batman, crime has no punchline.”
What this movie called ?
@@marvinwashington5175 The Killing Joke. The intro is a complete joke and failure of a proper Batman adaptation, but once Batman pulls into Arkham Asylum, it becomes an S-Tier animated Batman movie.
He got what he deserved lmao
The fact that joker said “Excuse me” before laughing this just made me think that joker does have some manners
Just because he's a mass-murdering maniac doesn't mean he doesn't have class.
I think joker can be a decent human being, but the society made him like this
Victor Rocha
The Joker can blame society all he wants, at the end of the day he CHOSE to become like this.
@@tadstrange1465 bruh the joker only wanted money to keep living and batman literally throw joker to the ACE chemicals like at least save him
Victor Rocha
And the Joker chose how to react to those events. He's the one who chose to embrace his twisted sense of nihilism because of these events as a way to cope, assuming this is actually what happened.
That "goddammit" was the most human thing out of the Joker, ever.
R G facts
I always say it like him everytime I make a mistake
Tsk goddamnit
IMO the most human thing was "I'm sorry, but no It's far too late for that" You could see that he had a thought of accepting help for a sec.
Mark Hamill's best performance as joker
Everyone talks about the jokers moment of sanity, but for me the best part was when Batman wanted to break the cycle and help the joker. Just what he said to him alone is so powerful that the joker actually heard him, wanted his help, and realized that he was to far gone. Made me tear up a bit when Batman offered him help, he honestly tried to reach out to the inner soul of this man and he did for a minute. Really a great final scene.
You said it the best. For once, Batman decided to actually offer the Joker genuine help, as a friend.
And for that brief moment, the Joker actually heard and considered the offer. That's what makes it hurt so much...
But that's part of why I think Batman laughed at the joke, he wanted the Joker to have one small victory since the matter of how their story ends became a matter of 'when' not 'if'
Replaying this scene over and over you can hear the va voice breaking as he felt what both were going through it’s crazy
If you ask me, I think the Joker isn't even crazy. He's just violently hyper-aware and puts on the Joker persona for theatricality.
@@hyperactiveofficial8096 as am i. Not many can see the funny side of it ALL
Truly ask yourself, whose crazier?
The First guy, who believes you can walk across a beam of light. Or the Second guy, who believes the first guy.
Holy shit I completely missed that metaphor for what's happening in the scene. Joker Basically described their entire situation and state of affair
@Bad Morning🇷🇺 ???
Their escaping an asylum, both crazy, one says an idea he's crazy enuf to believe, the other is crazy too why wudnt he believe the idea....both, Batman and Joker r equally crazy, one's jumped the other hasn't....he'd rather prefer stayin than being left halfway getting help from the one guy who understands him unfortunately the one on the opposite, who can't shed light on the path to the right anymore, it's better to let someone be than helping em a lil, giving a taste of smthn good, taste of smthn they never had and taking it all away suddenly....or maybe they're both just crazy, it's beautiful, and this isn't the meaning for him not jumping.
Exactly, Batman lifts his lamp and says to the Joker "Follow me out of the darkness, I know the way to mental wellness after experiencing severe trauma" with zero self-awareness. Batman is objectivity not mentally well. He spends millions and billions on a hero suit, vehicles, and gadgets on a compulsion to beat up low level criminals. Think of all the good that money he spent on vigilantism could do to help treat addicts or via investments in the community to prevent future crimes.
@@foxman105 the only difference is the first guy uses his “insanity” to bring other crazy people to justice or to help them
I saw the film in theaters. After Joker finished his joke, the audience laughed along with Joker and Batman. It was one of the most bitter sweet feelings I have ever felt.
I wish I could have seen this rather than Star Trek yesterday
Same thing happened with our theater, except they we're laughing well into the credits. It was one of the most mixed feelings ever
Same happened in my theater
Maybe there were trace amounts of joker gas in the building.
When I went to theaters, everyone laughed at Joker joke, then stayed silent when Batman started laughing too. It was creepy and only after half a minute they started clapping.
Batman's laugh is scarier than Joker's
This
Especially since he hardly ever laughs. Lol
I already said this, but i think that's the Point. Batman laugh is more Scary than Joker's because he goes insane. The Joker prooves the point that anyone can got looney with just a bad Day, and what Day could be worse than the one with all this shit happens to Batman and has to deal in TKJ. After all is done, is all the Same and Batman know that there's no way he can defeat Joker without killing him. And i still don't know if he actually Kill him , but he goes crazy that's for sure. And of course, as here above said, the fact that Batman almost never laughs makes it even more special, and unsettling
I remember him laughing in The New Batman Adventures.
+coopdavyl last time I heard him laught Harley Quinn had strung him above a tank full of piranhas
The sincerity between the two is both heartwarming and heartaching.
No Batman killed him when the camera turned black
Rest in peace, Kevin Conroy. Thank you for being my superhero.
With joker being serious and Batman laughing, it caused a world wide shock.
Charlie Premo studios have you read all star batman?
A paradox(funny villain, serious hero) being inverted, you r right
@@sesereddead465 i did
They both had a taste of what the other's point of view of the world is like.
Um batman killed joker that's why he stopped laughing
In another world batman was laughing at that joke and Joker was like “Ok now your scarring me Bats”
That was harley quinn. Also it's scaring.
@@ShoppingBored if you saw batman laughing that hard, you be scarred and scared
Joker doing skar dancing would be horrifying, true
Joker stops laughing because batman kills him.
@@shayne182 Yes, we know. We were making jokes. so go r/woooosh yourself
The last movie to feature Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamil together... Rest in Peace, Batman.
Conroy and Hamill are superb as always, and it's a fitting last performance for the two of them. It's a shame the movie as a whole is quite lackluster. The animation looks a bit cheap and the opening 20 minutes with Barbara felt so out of place and badly written. If you just cut out that opening then it's a good enough adaption of the Killing Joke, but I still think they could have gone a bit more all out with it.
We have one more movie with them! Crisis on infinite earths part 3, I heard part 1 is not that good but I’ll watch it to hear their voices one last time
This gives you a glimpse into how the Joker is self aware of just how broken he is and does everything he does to try to cope and adapt with what he's irreversibly become.
He's super sane :3
He’s not super sane he’s just not completely oblivious
And how broken Batman is too.
Joker: "This reminds me of a jo-"
Robert de Niro: "I think we've had enough of your jokes."
It’s from Joker (2019), not the Irishman.
Are u talkin nome
@@juandavidmapuravarela2520 he means joker 2k19..
C mamo
Lmaoo I laughed
So Batman is the first guy and Joker is the second guy. They're both nuts, but one managed to get out of the "madhouse" by himself and tried to help his friend do the same. But the friend is too insane to be able to accept the help, while the first guy is offering "help" that wouldn't work anyway.
In other words, they're both too insane to help. In a way, the Joker sees Batman as even crazier than himself, as Guy #1 (Batman) seems genuinely convinced that walking across the beam of light will work, while Guy #2 (Joker) is just playing it off with a joke. Just like the Joker does with everything.
This whole story was about how much Batman and Joker pity each other.
@@Emidretrauqe no.
Wow, am kinda jealous you were able to make the connection and I couldn't! Spot on.
Get metaphor
Literally just copied the big comment and made it shorter lmao
I love this ending because of how much it diverts the viewers expectations.
I was expecting an ending where Batman finally kills the joker, Gordon is seen back in his normal life, and everything is a happily ever after. An ending where Batman got his standing ovation.
When he declined to kill him because, in the end, he'd win, it escalates into this slow realization that Batman and Joker are just as insane as eachother, and that there's no fixing either of their mental dillusion. The entire movie ends with just that one laugh, followed by rain and silence. Alot of movies end with the problem being solved, big mr. Bad guy is gone, everything is good.
But this.
No dance party scene that exists solely to sell a record. No explanation with what happens afterwards.
Nothing.
Just rain.
underappreciated comment
He still killed the Joker though.
@@brandonsmith9098 no, it's literally in the fucking comic, lol
@@brandonsmith9098 No he kills the joker which is why laughter abruptly stops.
still a trash movie nonetheless. it’s like y’all forget about the whole hour and then some of trash u have to endure to see a 2 minute ending 😂😂🤡😂😂
Great scene. I love it when Joker says “I’m sorry.” Then when he says no a second time, you realize he truly accepted his decision.
Joker and batman: laugh
Joker: stops laughing
Batman: laughs louder
Joker:”dude it wasn’t that funny”
A very popular fan-interpretation is that the Joker stopped laughing because Batman was strangling him to death.
Kiltmaster i know dude it was just a joke
Batman: I don't like crying.
Joker: God, you weren't kidding earlier. (about having been there)
@@kiltmaster7041 I disagree because it doesn't sound like it
@@izeahpemberton9511 and Alan Moore outright stated he didn't kill Joker in the comic. And as you pointed out Joker isn't struggling or making any choking sounds.
This scene actually shows the REAL side of the Joker, not the murderous raving lunatic that we all know. He actually had a genuine laugh, an actual conversation where they’re not trying to kill each other...it’s amazing!
Batman killed joker here
MARS I realize that after someone else brought it up, I didn’t know that when I wrote this.
@@zackcoleman8881 Batman didn't kill him in the comics. If I remember correctly, the very next issue after the killing joke, Joker is mention doing his high jinks yet again.
Well he did beat a teenage boy with a crowbar in a cold, dark warehouse for months until he finally decided to blow him up with some high grade explosives so I mean, he is still kind of a murderous raving lunatic
Jesus christ you're delusional hahahahah
Came to hear that laugh one more time.
RIP Kevin.
Rest in piece, Kevin Conroy.
🤨
@@ichiban9662
He died on Thursday.
@@TheBanishedWind I know
It's "peace" you dimwit
This ending was stronger than the whole Justice League movie
Shahin Ghasemnejad I agree
Because Kevin and Mark are here.
And the whole marvel franchise, even though this is one of the most low ranked dc films
Bejli Çaushaj Too far
@@gus6783 I agree, too far.
While the joke was legendary, in my opinion the scene where he picks up the gun and is genuinely disappointed to find it fake because of his own doing is infinitely funnier.
Goddamnit...
I was honestly expecting him to say "...Oops...wrong gun." Or something like that. Though, let's be honest, the fact he had the wrong gun and he just was like "God Damn it." Was one of the funniest bits in the movie. That's true comedy there, and the Joker has always been more for slapstick than telling jokes.
Yeah that is funny. He would never kill batman
Also how the flag says "Click Click Click" and he tries to pull the trigger three times.
1k like
Thanks for all the years, Kevin Conroy. You were the best Batman, and the comic nerds everywhere will greatly miss you. Rest in peace.
That's why I like Joker as a villain and Batman as a superhero.
For Joker: Despite being insane, murderous and committing so many crimes, Joker's soft and humane side is sad. It shows that deep down, despite being a villain, he understood what Bruce is trying to do for him and appreciates it, but rejects cause he admits that his problems, sins and crimes were too far for him to redeem himself to the people and to Bruce.
For Batman: He bruises and injures criminals but doesn't kill so that he can shows justice. But when it comes to the Joker, he feels responsible cause he was the cause of the birth of Joker. He wanted to fix the Joker so that he can have his humane life back despite him killing many people and causing crimes.
Seeing both of them sharing laughs for a joke is a memorable moment in all of Batman's series that I'll NEVER forget. Cause it's a moment where both got along and setting their differences aside for the time being.
That joke from joker was actually the reply to Batman and his offer.
Mind...blown
@@thomasmay9057 True bro
Subhojit Mukherjee
I don’t get it
No way!!
@@chikennabugwu2296 That whole joke was an example of the situation of both Batman and joker . If you listen carefully you might understand that how it is impossible for the joker to follow the footsteps of Batman and that he would fall into his own abyss and therefore the meaning of his darker life will end. They are destined to do this forever. But, joker would never kill Batman ever. As he completes him(as also shown in the movie- the dark knight). But one day if he can make Batman kill him that would lead to his own moral victory. It's damn complicated bro. But in truth, Joker's life is more darker and with much deeper meanings that our Batman. Somehow it's kinda tough to explain here. I tried to give you a small glimpse. Repeat the video again. You might get my point. 😉
Whats so funny?
"You wouldn't get it".
I just realized too. Oh wow.
PepeLaugh
And Batman got it because he is crazy too, fucking loved the Joker movie
@@carlosrob8423 Yup! 😊
how about another joke, Aqua?
As controversial as this adaptation was, I’ll give it this: Kevin delivered his lines exactly as I imagined they’d sound when reading the comic.
RIP
For those unaware, this clip follows that of the comic, and though the ending is intentionally left ambiguous, it is not a coincidence that the last thing you see is Batmans hands on either side of the Jokers neck, followed by Batmans laughter, while the Joker's laughter dies off as soon as the camera pans off of them. This is left as an open implication that Batman could have killed the Joker, as it was the only way to end their cat and mouse game, and that Batman, after all this time has finally begun to lose himself. The comic focuses heavily on each character's tragedies and how they have broken and reshaped their mental states into something warped and twisted, with the Joker being truly free, doing as he wishes, haunted only by his past, and Batman's being restrained, haunted not by the past which he has accepted, but rather by how his current actions are impacting others in the present, and the story's heavy focus on the fact that the only way to end this cycle is for at least one of them to die. I've not read this comic or seen this film adaptation, mind you, but I. My research into Alan Moore, I stumbled upon this and find the narrative rather interesting. He has gone into depth about several scenes through this story arc, and which classic films have inspired them.
Except his hand are on his shoulders not his neck. I honestly never understand the idea that Batman killed the Joker in the end. The scene existed just to show the connection between the two characters, to emphasize that these two really are the same. Under different circumstances they could have even been friends but due to jokers unwillingness or unable to take the leap to get help they're destined to combat. In the end all they can really do is laugh at the absurdity of it all.
@@MegaOverclocked I mean, Alan Moore, the man who wrote it literally disagrees with you, but hey, I guess you somehow know his work better than he does. Jesus Christ, the ego on you Gen Z kids is incredible.
@@the-dullahan Yes, if that's the case then I have i gotta question his writing process cause it's completely asinine development. I'm more partial to believe he only says that shit to give the comic some grand significance that clearly didn't exist.
@@MegaOverclocked bro grow up. He's not giving it "grand significance" it was a VERY obvious implication in the comic so it clearly DOES exist.
@@MegaOverclocked the only thing "clear" is that you've never read the comic. The whole series is a buildup to that and yes that's exactly what the ending implies. You realize how many times Batman has killed Joker onscreen and in comics? It's nothing new.
“I’m sorry but...no. No, it’s far too late for that.” This was actually a shock for me, and probably was for all the Joker and Batman fans out there. Joker actually shows empathy and manners for his long-time rival.
People talk about Joker and Batman and the Not So Different meme. Here's the thing; Joker knows! *_He's Always Known._* Half the shit he's done was trying to point it out to Batman so he'd come over to Joker's side... so Joker wouldn't be alone.
I don't think Joker wants Batman to come over to his side, as he enjoys their cat and mouse game too much. Once he's beaten Batman, or made him realise he's crazy, then there's no fun anymore. The fact Batman is so absolutely resolute and will not break, is what drives Joker to keep causing mayhem.
@@Crichjo32 That's the killing joke; Joker and a crazy Bat would... do something else. Think about the joke. Joker is portraying himself as the guy with the flashlight.
The Joker knows he cannot be saved. Most of his life has been causing death and destruction. He knows that he has hurt countless people and that would haunt him if he ever tried to seek real redemption.
I saw it that it was Joker's first lucid moment in god knows how long
My theory on why Joker stopped laughing:
"Jeez, Bats. It wasn't THAT funny."
"oh sorry...you just tickled my bat-bone"
@@MINITYREEKFF r/whooosh
I don't have reddit, I've always wanted to do that
You're not far off. If you look at Joker's hand gesture in the pannel after the one where Batman grabs him, he's clearly thinking, "Really, Bats? You're still gonna arrest me? I thought we had a moment?"
I doubt it, Joker found it so funny he laughed at his own joke
@@braydynniewiadomski5454 Who the fuck invited the Bible thumper?
That has to be the most depressing video description I've ever read. "I own nothing" many would assume that this in reference to the video but I disagree. It is actually a sad desperate plea for help from the uploader. Very deep stuff. Poetic.
Literally everyone when talking about Joker:
You know, i thought that right at that exact moment (2:35), the police would show up just like what happened at the last page of the comic of "Batman: The Killing Joke"
The last comment before Conroy died
"Batsy, I kid you not. He turns himself into a pickle"
Funniest shit I’ve * insert maniacal laughter for a few seconds* *clears throat* ever seen.
I hated the pickle meme but this is an exception in my book, good joke laughed
Pickle bat
@@Hafb73 my dude! I kid you not!
He turned himself into a pickle and then calls himself, “Pickle Bat”!
It’s the most funniest shit I ever seen, my dude! :D
2:14
“I’m sorry but no.....no....it’s far too late for that”
I know people keep talking about this but it’s just so damn good. After everything they’ve been through, after everything Joker has done, Batman still wants to help Joker. Joker understands this and actually considers it for a bit. Unfortunately, even he knows it’s too late for any rehabilitation...
Yeh...also I think the joke itself is part of his response. Maybe Batman is the first crazy guy :-? while the joker is the 2nd crazy guy, not trusting Batman's offer :-?
I guess the joke is a crazy guy can't trust In other crazy guy
@@juanjoseaguilar3668 Well aren't they both crazy tho?
@@HipHopJUVIE yes and oh yes
They're both victims of trauma and tragedy. Like many superhero-supervillain pairings, they're a lot alike.
This is the most sincere moment these two will ever have. That's what makes this scene so powerful.
"You don't need to be alone. We don't have to kill each other."
That shit hit me.
I think the joke was a metaphor, that the Joker was afraid that Bats would just leave him halfway when helping him.
Idk lol, this scene is a masterpiece.
The joke’s message is they’re both ultimately as mad as each other; only one of them accepts it.
Only a madman would think you can walk across a beam of light AND say ‘what do you think I am, crazy?’
Or there was a wooden/pipe/metal beam there stretching across the rooftops and then the joke makes no sense
I didn't even think about it like that but it definitely sounds likely
The whole point of the joke is that both Batman and Joker are insane. Batman laughs because he realizes in that moment that Joker is incapable of rehabilitation and he basically snaps. He isn't laughing because the joke is funny, he is laughing at the futility of trying to help this mad man. The theory is that Joker stops laughing because Batman killed him. Apparently when the comic was first put out it was meant to a be non-canon story. When it was made canon, the idea that Joker was killed had to be thrown out. As a stand alone movie, I like to think Batman really did kill the Joker and I would love to see a follow up where he had to deal with having done it.
@@kelman727 I saw this scene multiple times not getting the joke, and now, as I read your comment, I realized they are talking about a literal beam of light as opposed to a physical, metal beam...
Joker's laugh at the end of his joke is heartbreaking, he know that he desperately wants to go back to being normal, but he can't and the one person who understands him is on the opposite end, the guy that he cant find himself trusting back because he cant trust himself. Mark Hamill really did a good job with this film.
Mark Hamill did mention in one of the interviews he uses jokers laugh like an musical instrument, that is its tone is measured by the emotion.
The joker's laugh in this one is tone-wise not exaggerated at all, its almost sane
Did Kevin Conroy return to voice Batman ?
@@marianofernandezdarriba673 Mark Hamill didn't have any part in that, he just voiced Joker. (He also played Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy and Disneyverse sequels, and voiced Firelord Ozai amongst others).
Too bad Bruce Timm had to full it with his fetish.
Heh. I took his story as you may think you made it out but you and I are still mad. Nevermind whatever brand over clarevoyance you believe you have we are both two madmen with wacked ideologies. Batman laughed because it's true... and he knew then and there, that he and joker were gonna be stuck in a never ending loop because they are both insane. Batman just can't kill the joker
This scene makes me laugh, because if you think about. Batman said "let me help you, i can rehabilitate you" but at the same time he himself is on a twisted path too.
Can a crazy person rehabilitate another crazy person? Makes me laugh when i think about because of how brilliant it is.
I wake up to some news that Batman passed away. Smh damn man
The joke itself is pretty funny, even without the symbolism behind it
The best humor is layered. So while the joke works on its own, it does need a bit of prepwork to get the audience to roll with it for maximum effect.
It's funny, but I think that in order to understand the symbolism behind it, you first need to understand the joke by itself.
Not really plus I didn’t get it
@@JamesT094 he asks if the guy thinks he's crazy. Both dudes escaped an asylum so they are crazy
@@JamesT094 Batman said that he can rehabilitate Joker. And then the joke implied that 2 crazy men can't save other which meant that batman is just as crazy as him which also mean batman can't save joker because he himself isn't 'normal'
batman and joker laughing together brings tears of joy to my eyes
Me too. They could be Best Friends Forever!
he kills him... the name of the title. Moore wrote it to be a final table.
+Keith Cannon Wrong, it was meant to be in continuity. Nerd sync made a video on this topic and I'm too lazy to explain.
+L wie Lulu they really are... He only shot that gun one time the whole movie how he run out?
+Keith Cannon It doesn't confirm on if Batman killed the Joker, or not.
Rest in Peace Kevin Conroy. Batman will never be the same without you.
RIP KEVIN CONROY.
Childhood hero without a question.
Batman: **starts laughing**
Joker: Stop it, you're creeping me out!
I understood that reference !
I mean if Batman started laughing you know something is wrong. I mean the man that held himself together after a nuke in Metropolis was set off and he’s angry yeah but that’s just the interrogation.
I thought Batman was going to start choking him out at the end
Y'all acting like this guy did not just tell the best joke you've ever heard.
seriously, this is the best comment
you know, it's funny, this reminds me of a joke.
@@spiderjerusalem4009 oh no
I didn't get it at all but I started to get it right in sync with Batman
I'm sad because the guy in this section didn't actually tell the joke.
I like this ending. It humanizes both characters. RIP Conroy
Agreed.
“Ordinary people don’t crack” Batman and the joker aren’t ordinary, so they’ve already cracked. I just saw this movie on Netflix and I loved it.
This movies first 2 acts were terrible
Same here just watched a couple hours ago for the first time. Loved it. Especially knowing that Mark Hamill and Tara Strong being in the movie.
I especially love this joke they put into the movie.
@@Muksss facts, if it was just 20 minutes of the end it would be 10/10 for me, but the first 2 acts completely ruin it
Yes
It was ok at best for me. I don't mind the whole focus on Batgirl in the first act, but it went a bit too long and the animation I think is not awful, but really lacking. But that ending was definitely the best part, showing how Batman and Joker are the same
We can all agree Batman laughing maniacally while possibly strangling the Joker to death is scarier than anything Joker ever did.
He never killed joker
@@batmantheknight7862 he did, in several alternate universes i think
But he never did in killing joke
dapa never in the killing joke- I think that Batman put his hand over jokers mouth or grabbed his neck but not to the point it killed him
h0xi y0xa0xr well actually the director purposefully made it this way so you could draw your own conclusion, like the idea that Batman killed joker here for example
The fact that Batman tried to convince Joker that they could work together and try to save him, makes this scene a bit more amazing cause it shows that Batman has a human side in him and he is not someone who is just a cold-hearted vigilante (or hero it works the same). After all that the Joker did he still chose to help him. It is just so fascinating .
Right, I actually really like that the 80s period of the comics were a lot less un-compassionate towards people with mental illnesses (rather than depicting Batman going out of his way to seek out mentally ill people to beat up/physically assault every odd week or so).
@@MrMarsFargo If you honestly think Batman has ever been depicted as just going out and seeking mentally ill people to beat up in the comics. Then I refuse to believe you have actually ever read any Batman comic. Time and time again in Comics or Shows or what have you, we see Batman extent his hand out to try and help people, good or bad. It's not a new idea, not an idea lost to time. It's still his mission in modern comics. A recent example that I can think of was that "Batman: I'M A GUN". (Or just any of the main entry runs for the past two decades.)
The only people that make the statement "Batman is just a rich guy that beats up the poor and mentally ill" tend to either be making funny jokes/skits (like those funny videos where Batman beats up people for doing stuff like "using the pool after dark"), or uninformed terminally online people that have never picked up a Batman book in their life and just parrot what they have heard other uninformed people say.
R.I.P Kevin Conroy. You will always be the best dark knight and every d.c hero will miss you😭
Batman laughing it's a sign of the apocalypse
Kyle Ren And Joker being serious is the sign of the end of the world
OMG!! WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO?!
😱 😱 😱 😱
o please the horseman are afraid of Batman
Hence the creation of Dark Knights Metal and the birth of the Bat that Laughs
The meaning of the joke is way deeper than most people think. Batman and the Joker are the loonies, and the asylum represents how their traumatic experiences (the death of Bruce's parents, unknown for the Joker, but his memory in the movie was losing his love and future child and a subsequent dip in acid) changed them and made them mentally unstable. Batman, the first loony, has jumped the gap out of the asylum. He has denied his own insanity and managed to function in the regular world, despite his trauma. However, he's still as crazy as the Joker (in the comic, Joker: "Why else would you punch criminals at night dressed as a bat?"). He's offering the Joker to become like him, a functioning member of society. However, the rehabilitation he offers is a false hope: for any sane man, a beam of light won't help a person cross a gap, just how no rehabilitation could possibly help the Joker. The Joker, however, knows this, since he knows the joke, but still has hope, despite how futile it is, that it will work, since the second loony doesn't say no because of the light. The loony is afraid his accomplice will turn the light off. The Joker doesn't trust Batman to continue the rehabilitation if it doesn't produce results.
.
In summary: The Joker considers Batman as insane as he is, even though he's adapted to society. He thinks the rehabilitation won't fix him, but its point is for him to become another crazy person who's adapted. He knows it's impossible to do so, but still retains hope for it to work. But he doesn't trust Batman to actually do it for him.
ok this is very true
but did you have to write and Essay for it
@@JFSdragonfire yes yes he did lol
He did, no offense. It got its point across because it is very easy to miss unless you pay attention.
@Daniel Bausch Let's hear you.
The punchline is “what? do you think I am crazy?”. Joke is just funny because both the escaping patients are crazy. There is no rehabilitation, there is no flash of light or hope. Its a dark joke. It’s left open to interpretation on purpose but the punchline is that both the Joker and Batman are loonies.
You will always be THE Batman to me, no questions asked. Hope you’re having a cold one with Michael Gough, Adam West, & Heath Ledger tonight. RIP 😢
For a moment there he was touched by Batman's kindness and willingness to rehabilitate him. They both had bad days that would forever shape the course of their lives. But knowing that after all the Joker has done, there's no going back. There was nothing for him to go back to anyway. His wife and unborn child were dead, his life was turned upside down in one day. And even if they were alive, they'd hate him for the person he had become. The second he respectfully declined Batman's help was the moment where the Joker's last bit of humanity finally died
"Let me rehabilitate you"
One lunatic offering help to another lunatic. Irony
Oh the irony...
He's the lunatic that got out of the crazy ways and survived and joker is the one stuck.
@@trevorrodrigues41 Dude, that's a perfect reply. You said everything !
@@trevorrodrigues41 He's the lunatic who jumped between the buildings to freedom and joker is the lunatic who couldn't.
@@sashu6231 YOOOOOOO
I've heard criticisms of this adaptation, but hearing Mark Hamill perform this scene was totally worth it.
All of the content that's actually from the Killing Joke graphic novel is terrific. It's the added romance subplot with Batman plowing Batgirl that nearly ruined this adaptation.
Yeah...especially since some incarnations of Robin, specifically Dick I think, had a thing for/with Barbera.
Which adds another level of fucked up to the thing.
Samuel Jones there’s a part of me that isn’t to upset about the Batman - Batgirl subplot. Yes he’s her mentor and she’s his student. But they are both grown adults and she came on to him. Personally I don’t think it added anything to the story other then 15-25 minutes of filler screen time but I’m not bothered by it. I do wish they would have used that time to go deeper into the story.
The romance subplot, in my opinion, shows that if a man and a woman were to work together they have to form a romantic relationship. It normalizes that a profesional relationship between a man and a woman will always lead to a romantic relationship, which is very irritating. In the comic, Batman was just as determined to catch the Joker and save James Gordon and possibly avenge Barbara without the brief romance. Barbara was to quick being Batgirl because of her paralysis and became Oracle so she could help Batman and others. In the movie, she quits and for some unexplained reasons decides to become Oracle. The romance subplot added nothing new, it was just pointless and unnecessary filler. They could have used the extra time to explain why Joker decided to suddenly target the Gordons and prove to Batman why it all takes one bad day to end up like him. Also explain why Batman suddenly decided to end their animosity towards each other in a peaceful and permanent way instead of the usual punch to the face. Hopefully, helping each other heal from their own psychological damages and move on. Lastly, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are quite the duo.
curosaber agreed! All in all, it was pretty good and with a couple of minor tweaks it could have been great.
I wasn't too big on The Killing Joke movie in general but damn Conroy and Hamill definitely did the ending justice, and to be honest that's all I'd really want out of a Killing Joke adaptation. R.I.P. Kevin Conroy
Rest in peace Kevin Conroy, thank you for everything ❤️❤️❤️
To realize this is the only time Mark's joker and Kevin's batman werent enemies for over 20 years
What about Joker's Arkham death scene?
you know, it's funny, this reminds me of a joke
@Chickenboi 123 Oh my bad, he did lol. When I searched up the cast, for some reason his name didn't pop up.
I crippled Barbara, but lets laugh at this joke.
In the comics batman killed joker after laughing
@@stephenhinds3160 and the movie ends the same exact way
@@danielhanna4515 fr I noticed after he puts his hand on joker as it pans down, the joker suddenly stopped laughing
@@felixr6307 he didn’t rape Barbra, that’s not something the joker would do. He undressed her to take the pictures for Gordon to see
@@matteocerasuolofilms he did rape her in the comic
Kevin Conroy passed away today.
RIP Dark Knight.
This movie wasn’t perfect but you have to admit this scene was very powerful.
1:12 - something about the Joker apologizing, gets me every time. He knows he’s too far gone. And respects Batman enough to tell him the truth.
He was being sincere
People can say what they want about The Killing Joke, but it's really the only Joker "origin story" that doesn't take the easy way out. It doesn't just make him a born psychopath who Batman allowed to fall into a vat of toxic waste during a heist. It gives the Joker humanity and empathy, and then it dares to ask what happens when a person is broken so horribly that they lose those very qualities. In 1989, Tim Burton's adaptation popularized the storyline where Batman was responsible for the Joker's accident, and Joker himself was already a sadistic psychopath throughout most of his childhood. This made the Joker a lost cause since he never had any humanity to begin with then, but The Killing Joke is different. The sheer frustration for Batman in it isn't merely that the Joker exists, but that he wants to help him and can't genuinely offer that help in such a mad world. This is no longer just a good guy vs. bad guy dichotomy. It's a story about two human beings coping with every harsh blow the world can throw at them in the only way they know how, no matter how flawed and self-defeating those ways may be. When Batman says "I don't want to hurt you", there's this kind of desperation there, like he's trying to reassure a person who's badly frightened. He doesn't hate the Joker. He hates that the Joker ended up the way he did, and he pities him.
Easily the most tragic scene in all of Batman. The joke it Joker outright telling Batman why it is too late.
Batman is the guy that leapt across to the other building and is the one telling Joker to follow him over to sanity, to freedom from their past tragedies, but as Joker then says, he can't do it, because he is afraid that Batman will just leave him once he is halfway there. This is made even more clear in the graphic novel where it is obvious that joker is considering it and that a part of him wants to do it. Like a guy who is afraid of loving after being burned and choses that he would rather not even try giving love a chance at all again.
Thuran
The point of the joke is that both men are mad, only one doesn’t realise it.
Only a madman thinks he can walk on light, after all.
Not 100% if this is more Tragic, but definitely more sad:
ua-cam.com/video/YOooJW5SSDA/v-deo.html
Thuran r
You're mostly right, but you're missing something in the joke, and that's that the character in the joke that represents Joker is fucked either way, and that's what Joker is trying to convey. The Joker is saying "You'd just turn it off when I was half way there" As a means of showing that he's afraid that they would just give up on rehabilitating him, but the scenario also shows how futile the joker thinks rehabilitation would be. Even if he chose to walk on the beam of light, he'd fall, because he's being asked to do the impossible. Walking on that beam of light is just as impossible as atoning for all of the Joker's sins. He understands that it's something that just can't happen, and he's finally coming to terms with the fact that he really is too far gone, even though he now wants to change for the better. Of course, this is all hypothetical seeing as even The Joker admits that he doesn't know whether or not this origin story is even real or not.
There's also something else to the joke. The first words of the Graphic Novel: "There were these two guys in a lunatic asylum..."
Rest in absolute peace.
This scene appears more fitting, now that Kevin Conroy has passed away. There’ll NEVER be a Batman like him anymore. 😪
This is the closest thing to the Batman who laughs we'll ever get in an animated movie
Wait for a Few years
Thank God. TBMWL is an awful overjoyed piece of trash that is best left forgotten XD.
@@yokainov2433 what is tbmwl
@@razor2011 the batman who laughs bro
@@yokainov2433 TBMWL is a great character!
I love the layers of the joke Joker tells. The two people who decide they don't like living in the asylum anymore (Batman and the Joker). The escape (they both break free of the confines of society, but all they've really managed to do is get to the roof of the asylum -- they're not free, just look at the asylum from a different angle). The leap (Batman channels his trauma into a quest for meaning). The fear of falling (Joker reacts to his trauma by deciding life has no meaning). The offer to shine a flashlight across the gap (the offer of rehabilitation) so the other escapee can walk across the beam of light (the absurdity of rehabilitating the Joker allowing him to achieve a sense of meaning). The retort of "you'll just turn the beam off when I'm halfway across" (Joker's fear that trusting Batman to achieve the apparently impossible will leave him worse off than remaining in his current condition). On that level, it's a heartbreaking metaphor for why Joker turns Batman down. On the surface level, it still works as a joke that subverts expectation (the inmate's issue with walking on a flashlight beam isn't that it's impossible, but that he's afraid the beam will disappear when he's halfway done walking across on it).
In a sense, Joker wins, because he makes Batman laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing, so for that moment, he's gotten Batman to see the world from the Joker's point of view ("God's a comedian, life is a joke, and we're all to scared to laugh at the punchline.")
ok
This is without the best analysis of this scene in this comment section that I have read.
*mindfxck the bat signal is the flashlight…..
You are like my English Teacher.
Batman's hands go to Joker's shoulders. Fingers and thumbs apart, spread around his neck.
Batman and Joker laugh, as the camera pans down.
Batman's hands scroll up out of frame.
Joker stops laughing. Batman continues laughing.
R.I.P. Kevin Conroy. I'm a Gen Zer who grew up with the live action movies and your later animated movies so I didn't get as influenced by you as other older fans. But I do agree that your voice was the best for Batman.
Thank you for the impact you've had.
Tonight, we lost the Batman. Long live the Batman.
It’s scary, seeing *Joker being serious* and *Batman laughing.*
it's funny because it reminds me of a joke
I'm actually comforted when the Joker gets humanized
Person Guy me too. It shows that deep down everyone is still human, no matter what they do, no matter what they say. Humans are complicated things. No one is truly good and no one is truly evil. It’s nice to see that reflected in jokers few serious moments
@Daniel Appleton yep, I agree
That’s what I’m saying. Black and white is a lie we tell ourselves to justify our actions. If a person is "bad" or "evil" suddenly we don’t have to care about their well being
Refering to jokers joke:
The two people he's refering too in the asylum are Batman and him. See, they both had a "really bad day" one with Batman's parents dying and one with jokers life falling apart. When they decided to escape, this is refering to how they overcame their bad day. The first guy managed to jump across easily, symbolizing Batman overcoming his parents death with the help of Alfred, his persistence, his money, etc. Joker didn't have anything. He was afraid. He was having difficulty, crossing that line into "freedom", his exhale of pain by going into the rooftops. When he talks about the man shining the flashlight, he's refering to putting his trust in other people. People who might help him. But that's where the joke came in. He would turn the flashlight off, just to see the other guy fall to his descent, into darkness, and laugh. Joker never trusted anyone, no matter how convincing they sounded, because he believed no one cares about him at all, that he was nothing but a laughing stock. So he laughed back.
That deep
Very deep
@@TheGodofwarkratos12 mind freak
Joker makes his jokes have meaning
More like joke is leading batman to insanity
RIP Kevin Conroy
Paralyzing Barbara and assaulting her all in an attempt to make Jim Gordon crack is one of the worst things Joker has done and should make him totally irredeemable, but then you learn that he came to this sick plan because it stems from a lot of deep-set issues and horrific trauma that's not too unlike Batman's own. It adds an extra layer to his and Batman's rivalry and makes Joker far more than the one-dimensional serial killer he was.
This is not to say his tragedy excuses his crime--it only serves to explain his actions and grant the reader an understanding of the Joker at his core. Joker has one bad day that drove him to insanity, and thus he believes making others suffer the way he suffered means that they'll go insane too, and that all human beings are as bad as he is at heart; but he's ultimately proven wrong. Gordon didn't crack, Barbara went on to continue helping people, and Batman (contrary to popular fan theories) didn't even kill Joker. He's presented as a pathetically selfish creature desperately wanting to not be alone in his insanity by dragging others down with him--absolutely not someone to emulate or absolve of any guilt because "society is to blame."
Despite this, Joker implicitly recognizes how monstrous he's become and clearly hates himself to his fundamental core and his own suffering isn't downplayed. You can understand, if not agree, why Batman wants to help him--why Batman doesn't want to kill him. But Joker doesn't accept Batman's help, because Joker believes he's too far gone--and he might be right, but tragic nonetheless.
Alan Moore intended Killing Joke to be a very complex story that has Joker simultaneously at his most monstrous and at his most sympathetic, so that future Batman and Joker stories could be more complex. Instead, DC editors and writers clearly felt that they need to "one-up" the sheer horrific things Joker did in this story by making him as depraved as possible in almost every subsequent story (Death in the Family, No Man's Land, Azzarello's Joker, Injustice) to the point of becoming evil incarnate--ironically making him even more one-dimensional and one-note than ever before.
This is why I crave more complex and maybe even sympathetic Joker stories but also understand the frustration some fans have that he's too horrible to ever be that way--the two characterizations conflict too much.
Very well said
Having empathy for a man like him will never excuse his doings, but can serve to show that we are not born this way, we become this way.
😢
cope, what joker did to barbara was based af. They both got a slice of that pie
@@noctifersummanus15
What the hell is wrong with you
bruce banner - you don't wanna see him angry
bruce wayne - you don't wanna see him laugh
Hes always laughing
@@burgerbandit3646 is that his secret?
@@burgerbandit3646 actually that makes him a lot scarier. Laughing uncontrollably as he pulverizes criminals
well, one that laughs is one that wins
It's kinda like how it is with Jotaro. Jotaro's normally a stoic punk, so when he laughs it means something's REALLY bizarre.
Y'know, this reminds me of a classic joke: there are two identical rocks in the desert. ...that one gets Jotaro every time. Every time.
The significance of the joke is that Batman is the one that jumped across and joker is the one that is to afraid to, and even if joker had trusted batman to help him, he knows batman couldn't if he tried.
Actually it's also possible that the Joker made the jump. Think about it. The Joker uses insanity to escape from his miserable past, which is like the freedom he spoke of in the joke, while Batman continues to wallow in his misery. On the other hand, Batman could be interpreted as the man who managed to escape as he literally roams Gotham freely while the Joker keeps having to return to Arkham. The reason the joke is so clever is that either one of them could be the one who made the jump. It depends on the viewer's interpretation.
Tom Norton nah
No.
The point of the joke is that both men are mad, only one doesn’t realise it.
Only madmen think they can walk on light, in case you didn’t notice.
Both escapees think you can walk on light. One thinks it'll work, the other thinks it'll work until the other guy turns off the flashlight.
they're both insane, one escaped the insane (most say batman) and tried helping the other get across with insane methods and the other ones was mostly to scared of being betrayed then the methods themselves.
This on the layer would make most sense for joker to be the one stuck in the asylum but if you look at the psyche of bruce/batman and jokers main point.. you'll realize they're interchangable
the joker is always trying to prove a point to batman when he's mostly just trying to stop him
“Say goodbye, Batman!”
0:13
“Goddamnit.”
I only now realized that the "first guy" in the joke could refer to Batman and the guy who's scared of heights could be The Joker. The whole "escape from the asylum" scenario is a metaphor for Batman's peace offering.
You can interpret it any way you want, but it's more of a metaphor for how Bats and Joker are both equally crazy, but Batman doesn't realize it. The heights guy thinks he's sane because he sees past the other guy's "trick," but he's still crazy for thinking it would work given he didn't turn the flashlight off.
That's why Batman laughs because he's basically saying, "You're right, fuck it. We're both loons with no hope of recovering. Who cares who kills who?"
omg cool
@Stegomasaurus Yeah I was thinking along the same lines.
+YodasGotSoul exactly, that's how I saw it... a lot of people found the scene and graphic novel's ending disturbing realizing this... i kind of found it refreshing...
The guys in the joke could be either of them. Joker tries to tell Batman to let go and join him in insanity. Batman thinks he's sane and refuses the offer. Or Batman avoided insanity and tries to help Joker across too, but Joker's too insane to even try.
I only have one problem: There is no beam of light reflected in the puddle. In the comic, we see the beam of light and then... it's gone. It shows that, just like in the joke, the bridge is gone... the offer is gone... this was the last chance and now there is no more.
I felt exactly the same way! I also wished they would've left the sexuality in Babs and Bruce's relationship to a more implied level, or otherwise have made this confrontation more of an "abyss" scenario with Batman, where his feelings for Barbara and what happened to her would struggle against Jim's wishes for this one to end peacefully. The whole Barbara thing kinda seemed to drop off the map after the hospital scene.
But...this was the bigger gripe, ha ha.
Somebody watched NerdSync's video
Now that you mention it... the bridge being gone could also mean that the guy offering to help (batman) decided to turn off the light so that the other guy would fall down from the physical bridge to his death. Meaning that batman decided to kill the joker.
Obviously i know that the bridge wasn't actually physical before but in a metaphorical perspective it would make sense. Seeing as how both inmates thought that the light bridge was real and functional.
Vegetable Soup
actually i believe that is incorrect. What Joker thinks is that, half way through his rehabilitation (if he did accept the offer) Which he refers to as the "jumping roof to roof to freedom" Joker believes everyone would give up on him HALF WAY through his rehabilitation and he'd be left to the same horrible life, except without his wife. And he would lose the "bond" of him and Batman
LALO_KILLER17 I think the joke is that both prisoners are insane it's just that one is worse off than the other
I'm actually really happy that despite how they messed up the beginning of this movie they kept that legendary ending intact.
I just love that ambiguity of how Batman puts his hand on joker's shoulder while they're both laughing and then it pans down to the rain on the ground and your left to wonder "did joker just stop laughing because he was done laughing or did Batman just kill him once and for all after being explicitly told that there's no more hope for him? In a few moments is there going to be blood mixed into that rain on the ground?"
I just love how this one really makes you wonder 🤔🤔🤔
Ambiguity isn't a real world
I wonder whether Batman decided to kill the Joker at the exact moment the lightning bolt struck (assuming the kill actually took place). I also wonder whether the Joker realized what was about to happen, therefore deciding to make one final joke.
Earlier in the movie, Batman warned Batgirl of "the abyss." There was also Batman's speech when he was speaking to the fake Joker. Perhaps Batman gave in, finally deciding that enough is enough.
Perhaps this was a test of Batman's sanity, rather than that of Gordon.
The joker finally did his job
Batman was probably choking Joker to death and that's why he was still laughing. He wanted the Joker's last few moments to see his only friend laughing at his joke
Exactly he came to the realization that batman would never be able to help his only friend
He doesn’t kill the joker in the sequel comic to this
@Aviral Khattar I don't know where people are getting this information. There has not been any conclusive evidence that this is the case. There is no sudden sound of a crack in the comics, no indication of sound except the vehicle coming towards them. If this really was the case, it would be seen as a sound effect. The lack of any laughter would at that point not be evidence.
If that is the evidence, then Joker could have easily snapped Bruce's neck. We don't see Joker putting his hands on Bruce but just because we don't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Now doesn't that logic look silly? It's the same thing just reversed. It's silly and theres no evidence, but using the lack of evidence is not evidence in itself here.
I've had to see so many people give this information that Bruce broke Joker's neck so many times. It's almost like people didn't actually read it. Or take the 39 seconds to Google it and find that this is not the case.
I THOUGHT THE EXACT SAME THING
@@EL_Nan000 then maybe just paralyzed by it in a catonic state. doesnt mean he died.
I rather enjoyed this scene. Not because of the joke, because the Joker and Batman were both able to have a heart to heart. Both of them are rather the same guy. Both of their lives shaped by tragedy, but each going different routes. In that brief few seconds they were not hero and villain. They were just people. Coming to terms with each other, and their fate.
porpus99 then batman killed him
porpus99 yeah Batman killed him that's why joker stop laughing
That’s the 100th like on your comment by me!
No, Batman doesn't kill the Joker. It was confirmed by the creators a long time ago.
porpus99 bats killed him
Rest in Peace, Kevin Conroy. Thanks for everything.
I think my most favorite part of this movie is how for a brief moment at the end the joker finally set aside all the bullshit between him and Batman and considered what was offered to him. He let whatever heavens and hells that were plaguing him and answer Batman as one human to another.
Rip Kevin Conroy.
The description on this video is hilarious to me. "I own nothing". Dude, I feel for you. I got a couch if you want somewhere to crash for the night. :(
Lmao u a g for that one 😂😂😂
@LagiNaLangAko23 huh?
i gotchu ggggggggg
@LagiNaLangAko23 yeah dude i never left the void in my life, reality sucks
He's referring to the fact that he doesn't own the clip...It's licensed to Warner Bros. Funny take on it though 🤣
It’s kinda sad when you think about it Batman offered him help even tho he rejected his help but you can feel it deep down he wanted to accept his help but joker’s insanity held him back
@Anni Starsilsa19 The joker always had something Batman didn't. It's like Ying and Yang lol
He rejected his help partly because he recognizes that Batman is also insane in his own way, and can't see it. Hence the joke, a person escapes the asylum and then offers a beam of light to follow to the other side to his companion. Though he has escaped his prison and thinks himself well, he is not. The path of light he offers leads to what he _thinks_ is wellness, but is just a different form of illness, which is why is is illusory. It is a path that will eventually end in failure for the man and his companion. A rich guy dressing up like a bat and compulsively beating up low level criminals in his spare time to cope with his trauma is just as unwell as a person dressing up like a clown and killing people.
The companion in the parable _believes_ the beam will carry him to safety, but only doesn't take it because he doesn't trust the man not to pull the rug out from under him midway. That is not the Joker, he is sane enough to recognize that the path Batman offers is illusory. Batman is the man shining a beam of light across a dark chasm, believing with all of his heart that it is solid enough to walk on. Who is the less sane person in that duo?
But Joker knew Batman would turn off the light at the half of the way
It wasn’t jokers insanity that held him back, it was the fact that he was to far gone. In that moment joker became sane enough to realize that he couldn’t be rehabilitated.
@@DiscountNoob02 Yeah. He's done too much horrible actions to be reedemed now.